West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.32 (NYSE:WFG)

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 29th will be paid a dividend of 0.32 per share on Monday, October 19th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 29th.

West Fraser Timber has a payout ratio of 21.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect West Fraser Timber to earn $1.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 95.5%.

West Fraser Timber Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of WFG opened at $72.83 on Thursday. West Fraser Timber has a twelve month low of $57.34 and a twelve month high of $76.99. The stock has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of -4.72 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.43.

West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.78) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.70) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. West Fraser Timber had a negative net margin of 22.98% and a negative return on equity of 10.84%. On average, equities analysts forecast that West Fraser Timber will post -3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of West Fraser Timber

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the second quarter worth approximately $110,334,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 2nd quarter valued at $86,416,000. Atlas FRM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Fraser Timber in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,090,600. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of West Fraser Timber during the 4th quarter valued at $39,660,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in West Fraser Timber by 171.7% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 736,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,836,000 after purchasing an additional 465,694 shares during the period. 40.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About West Fraser Timber

West Fraser Timber Co Ltd. is a diversified forest products company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1955, the company has grown from a regional lumber producer into an international manufacturer and marketer of wood products, pulp and paper.

West Fraser produces dimensional lumber, engineered wood products, oriented strand board, plywood, pulp, newsprint and specialty papers. Its products are used in residential and commercial construction, repair and remodeling, packaging, printing and other industrial applications.